“I don’t know that he wants America to be first. I don’t know that he doesn’t want us to play on a more level playing field. I don’t know that he doesn’t care if Russia or China gets to the Moon and we’re dragging tailbone.”

While I don’t entirely agree with Cernan – I guess he hasn’t heard of SpaceX – I’d love to see a Purdue astronaut take the stage on August 27. I’m certainly not saying we should build a moon base and make it into the 51st state, but who wouldn’t want to see space exploration featured in a bigger national discussion? In the words of Tsiolkovsky, “the earth is the cradle of the mind. But one cannot eternally live in a cradle.”